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PURCHASE, N.Y., March 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PepsiCo announced today that its Board of Directors approved a plan to increase cash returns to shareholders by raising the company's annual dividend and its share repurchase authorization amount.

PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi said: "From 2005 through 2009, we distributed over $26 billion to our shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. The Board's action reflects continued confidence in the growth of our business and our commitment to providing strong cash returns to our shareholders."

The Board of Directors of PepsiCo approved a 7 percent increase in the annual dividend on PepsiCo common stock, from the current annual rate of $1.80 to $1.92 per share, its 38th consecutive increase. The increase will take effect when the Board declares the next quarterly common stock dividend, which is currently expected to be paid on June 30, 2010 to shareholders of record on June 4, 2010.

The Board of Directors also authorized the repurchase of up to $15 billion of PepsiCo common stock through June 2013.

As previously stated, PepsiCo made a $600 million voluntary pension contribution earlier this year and anticipates repurchasing approximately $4.4 billion of common stock in 2010. A portion of that amount will be executed under a previous repurchase authorization from 2007. That authorization had $6.4 billion remaining at the start of the year and expires in June 2010.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that each generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses - Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in more than 200 countries. With annualized revenues of nearly $60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. In recognition of its continued sustainability efforts, PepsiCo was named for the third time to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and for the fourth time to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI North America) in 2009. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

Cautionary Statement

Statements in this communication that are "forward-looking statements" are based on currently available information, operating plans and projections about future events and trends. They inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted in such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: changes in demand for PepsiCo's products, as a result of changes in consumer preferences and tastes or otherwise; damage to PepsiCo's reputation; trade consolidation, the loss of any key customer, or failure to maintain good relationships with PepsiCo's bottling partners; PepsiCo's ability to hire or retain key employees or a highly skilled and diverse workforce; unstable political conditions, civil unrest or other developments and risks in the countries where PepsiCo operates; changes in the legal and regulatory environment; PepsiCo's ability to build and sustain proper information technology infrastructure, successfully implement its ongoing business process transformation initiative or outsource certain functions effectively; unfavorable economic conditions and increased volatility in foreign exchange rates; PepsiCo's ability to compete effectively; increased costs, disruption of supply or shortages of raw materials and other supplies; disruption of PepsiCo's supply chain; climate change or changes in legal, regulatory or market measures to address climate change; PepsiCo's ability to realize the full extent of the benefits and cost savings expected from the mergers with The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. (PBG) and PepsiAmericas, Inc. (PAS); PepsiCo's ability to realize the anticipated cost savings and other benefits expected from the mergers with PBG and PAS; failure to renew collective bargaining agreements or strikes or work stoppages; and any downgrade of PepsiCo's credit rating resulting in an increase of its future borrowing costs.

For additional information on these and other factors that could cause PepsiCo's actual results to materially differ from those set forth herein, please see PepsiCo's filings with the SEC, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. PepsiCo undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.